Blog Assignment #7

Teaching and Learning from Randy Pausch

      Randy Pausch was a professor at Carnigie Mellon University. He delivered a famous "Last Lecture."  Randy was diagnosed with reoccurring pancreatic cancer.  Pausch described how he achieved his childhood dreams, while also working hard to achieve obstacles and live generously. He said, "We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand.” This was a very inspirational lecture. It really put life in perspective. 
     Randy starts off by telling about his life. He describes that he was just diagnosed as to have only one more month of healthy living. He does not want to start of talking about cancer, his wife, his kids, or spirituality and religion. Randy talks about achieving childhood dreams. He explains how
we can enable the dreams of ourselves and others.
     Randy's first dream was to experience zero gravity. He experienced it, and realized that it was nothing as special as it seemed. His second dream was football. At 9 years old, Randy realized fundamentals. He talks about how his coach drilled him all of one practice. He realized that was a
good thing, and he was told that when no one is telling you anything, you are doing badly. That means that they have given up on you. That's a bad thing.  Randy always wanted to be in the World Book Encyclopedia. He says that Wikipedia is a fine source of information now because he know where sources came from!

     We learn quite a bit from Randy Pausch about teaching. He taught his lecture in a way as though he was just having small talk with a friend. He engaged the audience with his teaching. I liked how he told funny stories and serious stories. This really kept me engaged in the lecture. He told inspirational stories to make an impact on the listeners life. I really enjoyed how he was such an inspiration and kept my attention through the entire lecture. Randy tells us to dream big and never give up. When I have a classroom, one day, I will always tell my students to never give up. That will be the number one rule I have. Some other important teaching tools Randy said was that you should always tell the truth and show gratitude. What awesome advice from someone who, you would think, has many reasons to be made at the world. Yet, he is extremely happy with the world and the life he had been given.
     Randy Pausch also has a great view on how to learn.  Randy's cancer went into remission, but in
2007 it came back. Randy then learned and realized there was nothing he could do about it. He quickly learned that life wasn't all about what he wanted. Now, it was time to make a difference in the
world through his life experiences. It is very important to live everyday as it is your last, according to Randy Pausch. It was absolutely amazing to me how inspirational Randy was in his lecture. What an awesome lecture to hear because it has really made me appreciate my life, and helped me understand more about how those with a terminal illness may react.
     It is so inspiring to hear Pausch say that he is lucky. You may thing, "how can a man with terminal cancer be lucky?"  I thought that too.  Randy said that it is much better to have cancer than be hit by a bus because this way he can achieve his childhood dreams and do everything he has ever wanted with his wife and family before he passes. Randy said that he was able to have conversations with his wife that he never would have had if he'd not being diagnosed with terminal cancer. The "Last Lecture" is a truly inspirational lecture, and I encourage anyone who has the opportunity to watch the lecture or read the book. Randy Pausch has left such an amazing legacy for many people, and I was truly inspired by his story.